C I N C I N N AT I O P E R A
FELLOW TRAVELERS
COMPOSER
LIBRETTIST
GREGORY
GREG
SPEARS
PIERCE
FELLOW TRAVELERS An opera by Gregory Spears & Greg Pierce
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FELLOW TRAVELERS Composed by Gregory Spears Libretto by Greg Pierce Directed by Kevin Newbury Based on the novel Fellow Travelers by Thomas Mallon Developed and co-commissioned by G. Sterling Zinsmeyer Produced and co-commissioned by Cincinnati Opera Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mark Gibson
Cast (in order of vocal appearance) Hawkins Fuller, a State Department official ................................................................. Joseph Lattanzi Timothy Laughlin, an aspiring reporter ........................................................................... Aaron Blake Potter’s Assistant/Bookseller/Party Guest/Technician/French Priest .................................. Christian Pursell Tommy McIntyre, a reporter and friend of Sen. Potter ...................................................... Paul Scholten Senator Charles Potter/General Airlie/Bartender ......................................................... Vernon Hartman Miss Lightfoot, a secretary in Hawkins’ office ........................................................ Alexandra Schoeny Mary Johnson, Hawkins’ assistant .............................................................................. Devon Guthrie Estonian Frank/Interrogator/Senator Joseph McCarthy ................................................ Marcus DeLoach Lucy .................................................................................................................... Talya Lieberman Live recording of the world premiere performances Lead support provided by The Gale Family Foundation
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First performance: June 17, 2016, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati, Ohio. Presented in partnership with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Schott Helicon Music Corporation, New York, publisher and copyright owner. Original Production Scenic Designer .............................................................................................. Victoria (Vita) Tzykun Costume Designer ........................................................................................................ Paul Carey Lighting Designer ................................................................................................. Thomas C. Hase Hair & Make-up Designer ........................................................................................... James Geier Production Stage Manager ..................................................................... Constance Dubinski Grubbs
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CONTENTS Track Listing ...................................................................................................... 6 Synopsis ........................................................................................................... 7 Lavender Lament by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim ............................................. 10 Libretto Act I ........................................................................................................... 1 5 Act II .......................................................................................................... 40 Support for Fellow Travelers World Premiere & Recording .................................... 65
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COMPACT DISC 1 1
Scene 1 a: Park in Dupont Circle
2
Scene 1 b: Park in Dupont Circle
3
Scene 2 : Senator Charles Potter’s Office
4
Scene 3 : Hawkins’ Office/Trovers Bookstore
5
Scene
6
Scene 4 b: Timothy’s Apartment (“Bermuda”)
4 a: Timothy’s Apartment
7
Scene 5 : St. Peter’s Church (“Last Night”)
8
Scene 6 : The Hotel Washington
9
Scene 7 : Interrogation Room M304
10
Scene
8 : Timothy’s Apartment
COMPACT DISC 2 1
Scene 9 : McCarthy’s Office
2
Scene 10 a: Mary’s Kitchen
3
Scene 10 b: Mary’s Kitchen/Timothy’s Apartment (“I Worry, That’s All”)
4
Scene 11 : Roof of the Old Post Office
5
Scene 12 : Hawkins’ Office
6
Scene 13 : Timothy in France/Hawkins in Chevy Chase
7
Scene 14 a: Brick House
8
Scene 14 b: Brick House (“Our Very Own Home”)
9
Scene 15 : Mary’s Kitchen/Brick House/Room M304
10
Scene 16 : Park in Dupont Circle
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Synopsis September 1953 to May 1957, in Washington, D.C. Eisenhower is president. Senator Joseph McCarthy is stoking fears that the U.S. federal government is full of Communists, Soviet spies, and homosexuals. SCENE 1 Park in Dupont Circle. A fledgling reporter, Timothy Laughlin, sits on a bench reviewing his notes from McCarthy’s wedding when he is approached by State Department employee Hawkins Fuller. SCENE 2 Senator Charles Potter’s Office. Timothy is hired as a speechwriter for Senator Charles Potter. Timothy meets Tommy McIntyre, who gives him unsolicited advice about Washington politics. SCENE 3 Hawkins’ Office/Trovers Bookstore. Timothy stops by Hawkins’ office to drop off a thank-you gift. He meets Hawkins’ assistant and best friend Mary, and his secretary Miss Lightfoot, who mocks Timothy after he leaves. SCENE 4 Timothy’s Apartment. Timothy is at home cooking soup and writing his sister a letter when Hawkins unexpectedly stops by to tell him about the delights of Bermuda, among other things. SCENE 5 St. Peter’s Church. In the afterglow of last night’s encounter with Hawkins, Timothy is torn between his deep Catholicism and his blossoming passion. SCENE 6 The Hotel Washington. At a Christmas party, Timothy is approached by an Army general about enlisting; Mary warns Hawkins about his reckless behavior with Timothy; McIntyre tells Potter about McCarthy’s latest political troubles; Miss Lightfoot overhears an intimate exchange between Hawkins and Timothy.
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SCENE 7 Interrogation Room M304. An interrogator puts Hawkins through a series of humiliating tests in an attempt to determine whether or not he is a homosexual. SCENE 8 Timothy’s Apartment. Timothy and Hawkins discuss the interrogation, McCarthy, and Hawkins’ illicit amusements in New York City. SCENE 9 McCarthy’s Office. Senator Potter warns McCarthy that the “Adams Chronology,” which details how Roy Cohn and McCarthy pressured the Army to give Cohn’s friend David Schine special treatment, will be McCarthy’s downfall unless he gives up Cohn. SCENE 10 Mary’s Kitchen/Timothy’s Apartment. Mary invites Timothy over to warn him of Hawkins’ fickle nature. She tells Timothy she is pregnant from a one-night stand. In Timothy’s apartment, Hawkins rejoices that he’s been cleared of allegations of homosexuality. Timothy is shocked by how Hawkins wants to celebrate. SCENE 11 Roof of the Old Post Office. Timothy, in agony over his fraught relationship, tells Hawkins he’s decided to enlist in the Army. SCENE 12 Hawkins’ Office. Mary tells Hawkins she is quitting, as she can no longer work in an atmosphere of panic and persecution. SCENE 13 Timothy in France/Hawkins in Chevy Chase. Two years pass. Timothy writes letters to Hawkins and Mary from France, where he is stationed. Hawkins is now married to a woman named Lucy, with a house in the suburbs, but would clearly like to rekindle his relationship with Timothy upon his return. Fellow Travelers | 8
SCENE 14 Brick House. In a house in D.C. that Hawkins has rented for his afternoon flings with Timothy, Hawkins expresses that he cannot be everything Timothy wants. Hawkins resolves to end the affair himself. SCENE 15 Mary’s Kitchen/Brick House/Room M304. Mary is packing when Hawkins stops by, distraught. Hawkins confesses that in order to push Timothy away, he has given Timothy’s name to those investigating alleged homosexuals. He asks Mary to tell Timothy about this betrayal in hopes that it will make Timothy hate him. SCENE 16 Park in Dupont Circle. His dreams dashed, Timothy decides to leave Washington, D.C., and Hawkins Fuller for good. Both heartbroken, they say goodbye.
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Lavender Lament by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
A
s the time drew near of the June 17, 2016 premiere of Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce’s opera Fellow Travelers about a gay love story in Washington, D.C., during the McCarthy era, the time must have seemed auspicious. After all, since the idea of an operatic adaptation of the eponymous novel by Thomas Mallon had first been floated, America seemed to be irreversibly set on its course toward equality and acceptance. Barely a year earlier the Supreme Court had issued a landmark ruling on same-sex marriage. Then, on June 12 a gunman claiming allegiance to the Islamic State entered the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and killed 49 revelers in what became the deadliest incident of anti-gay violence in U.S. history. Pierce recalls receiving the news as the cast and creative team were deep into tech rehearsals at Cincinnati Opera. His libretto has a character gossiping about
a man who lost his job for having been caught in the “wrong” bar. Half a century of presumed progress later, dozens had lost their lives for much the same reason. “We started to hear everything differently,” Pierce says. “Suddenly there were these parallels.” Fellow Travelers presents a slice of American history that is rarely examined. It is set during the “Lavender Scare” of the 1950s, when anti-Communist paranoia fueled the targeted persecution of gay and lesbian government workers, who were considered easy targets for blackmail by enemy agents. But the instant popular and critical success of the opera has a more simple explanation. Fellow Travelers is a love story that is at once deeply romantic and unsentimental, set to music that manages to be beautiful without appearing glib and sounds familiar, yet fresh.
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It follows the emotional maturing of Timothy Laughlin, a wide-eyed Fordham graduate newly arrived in Washington, who falls under the spell of the suave and worldly Hawkins Fuller. Hawk, as he is known, works in the State Department and helps Tim get a job as a speechwriter for a senator close to McCarthy. He also initiates a love affair that is Tim’s first taste of sexual fulfillment. At work the atmosphere is poisoned by gossip and suspicion. Hawk successfully lies his way through an intimidating crossexamination of his sexuality. His secretary, Mary, is the only sympathetic character, casting a protective eye on the two men’s relationship even as an unplanned pregnancy brings her up against the cold restrictions of her society. And the men’s relationship itself unravels as Tim’s yearning for monogamous security rubs up against Hawk’s promiscuous restlessness. To wrench himself free Tim enlists in the army. While Tim is stationed in Europe Hawk marries the bubbly, oblivious Lucy. Tim returns to Washington and the two
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men resume their love affair, but by now the layers of lies and dissimulation have grown stifling. In a stunning act of betrayal, Hawk denounces Tim, ensuring that he is cast out of town and out of Hawk’s life. The opposition of political forces and private lives is reflected in music that juxtaposes the forward-pressing energy of Minimalism with the sensual arabesques and turns of troubadour music, a tradition that Spears says fascinates him in part because it was developed to express private and forbidden love in a public and ritualized setting. A strong pulse runs through the score, often tapped out on a piano, that conveys something of the mechanical impatience of a newsroom teleprinter of yore. The vocal writing, mirrored in the woodwinds, seems to revolt against that horizontal thrust with music that is extravagantly melismatic, virtuosic and willfully individual. Spears’ compositional style is studded with references to the past, including Baroque dance forms that capture the courtly formality of the 1950s in social scenes like the office Christmas party. As
Hawk sets up the love nest for his trysts with Tim in Act II the music momentarily turns neoclassical with chirpy Stravinskian winds. At this point the men’s relationship is in its second go-around, beset by compromise and disillusionment, and the neoclassical sound captures something of the artifice and rationed nostalgia of their situation. The transparency of the orchestral texture, created by a chamber-sized ensemble of strings, winds, brass and piano, allows the words of Pierce’s smart dialogue to come through with stenciled clarity. Few composers are as adept as Spears in making conversational American English singable in a way that is both idiomatic and psychologically astute. Tim’s vocal lines are especially revealing of his inner state: music for someone prone to blushing. Take, for example, his job interview, where the words come out in a nervous jumble, one tripping over the next, his voice an unsteady wobble on some words, or shooting up in a pubescent squawk on others. Or listen to the emotion he is trying so hard to bottle up as he
shops for a thank-you gift for Hawk in a bookstore. A melismatic tremor catches him off-guard as he mentions the “great man” he is gift-shopping for; you can guess at the effort it takes for him to iron it out as he repeats the words more plainly. One reason Fellow Travelers lends itself so well to opera is that the idea of the voice as a conveyor of multilayered meaning is so central to the story. A telling scene is the interrogation of Hawk, designed to test his sexual orientation. Not only is he subjected to a lie detector and ordered to walk the length of the room (“normally. Whatever you would consider normal”), but he is also asked to read out loud. Hawk is first given a news brief, then a passage from Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage, in which the male protagonist burrows into a closet full of women’s dresses. The idea that a man’s speech melody, rhythm or intonation can reveal carefully concealed truths that could undo his career is chilling, of course. But it’s also wonderfully operatic. As it happens, Hawk reads the first text in dead monotone,
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but turns the literary extract into a flamboyantly expressive performance that just happens to be set to the same music we first hear when he flirted with Tim on a park bench. His interrogators are clearly none the wiser: he passes the test. Spears often plays with recurrence of musical material, setting up pairs of scenes as mirror images of each other. Music from Tim’s job interview reappears in a scene involving Senator McCarthy in Act II, reinforcing, as Spears says, “the feeling that Tim has learned a lot: The first time Tim is thinking, ‘here is my future.’ And of course McCarthy is where it’s all curdled.” For all the oppressive social and political forces weighing on the main characters, the opera’s heart remains wide open—reflected also in the frequent use of guileless octaves and open fifths. Where Mallon’s novel is a dark web of intrigue and blackmail, the opera feels intimate. Pierce remembers being struck by the way Spears set the duet between Tim and Hawk as they dream of Bermuda, shortly before tumbling into bed together. While Hawk reminisces about his adventures
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there with “bronze boys on the beach— biceps you wouldn’t believe,” Tim is fantasizing about “sand as white as milk.” “Gregory set it in a way that it overlaps,” Pierce says, “so they’re almost not listening to each other. And then suddenly they are singing together. It was remarkable to me. I thought they would be listening to each other and sharing ideas, but they are really in their own worlds. And that feels so true: When we fall in love we are both seeing the other person but we are also creating that person, we want so badly for them to be ‘that’ person that we aren’t really listening to what they’re saying.”
Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim has been a contributing classical music critic for The New York Times since 2012. Her writing has also appeared in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Classical Review, Symphony Magazine, The Strad, and Tablet.
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Libretto Act I
SCENE 1: PARK IN DUPONT CIRCLE 1
(Timothy Laughlin sits on a park bench scribbling in his notepad. Beside him is a half-pint bottle of milk and some loose pages ripped out of the Congressional Directory. Hawk approaches from the shadows.)
2
Hawk Do you mind? Tim Sorry? Hawk Is there room? Tim Oh, sure...sorry. Hawk Don’t they give you an office? Tim No. It’s...just an internship. (Tim nervously takes a swig from his milk bottle. He slides down a bit, collects the loose pages, and goes back to his scribbling.) Hawk Is that your beverage of choice? Tim What? Oh, yes...milk. Always has been. Hawk Calcium! Strong bones. Good for a growing boy.
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(Tim smiles.) Hawk There’s no “e” in “Cohn,” by the way. Tim Sorry? Hawk (re: Tim’s pad) Roy Cohn. No “e.” Tim Oh. (Tim is taken aback...this man was reading his notes? He crosses out the “e.” ) Hawk Making a list of your pals? Tim I was just at a wedding...over at St. Matthew’s. Hawk Joe McCarthy! Lucky devil, who do you know? Tim No one. I’m reporting for The Star. (correcting himself) It’s just an internship. Hawk So, who was there? Come on, name names. (reading off Tim’s list) Vice President Nixon. Tim Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Mrs. Longworth, Senator John F. Kennedy... Hawk McCarthy, that’s efficiency. Married his office girl. She’ll crank out his baby and crank out his press release. Who gets married on a Tuesday lunch break? Is that why you came to this town? To be a reporter? Tim No. I was an English major at Fordham so... Hawk What would you rather be doing?
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Tim I’m Timothy Laughlin. Hawk (shaking his hand) Hawkins Fuller. Friends call me “Hawk.” And now you’re a friend. Tim Ideally, I would like a job on the Hill like everyone else. Hawk I’m in the State Department—Bureau of Congressional Relations. Tim Ah, lucky devil! Hawk If you like endless boring parties. Last night I had to convince the Estonians we love them. Endless boring parties. Tim It’s muggy... Hawk ...for September. Tim ...for September. (They sit there. What will happen?) Hawk All right, back to the salt mines. Thanks for the chat, Skippy. Finish your milk. (Tim smiles. He watches Hawk go. Tim gets up, still dazed, and walks over to Senator Potter’s office.) ................................................ 3 SCENE 2: SENATOR CHARLES POTTER’S OFFICE (Tommy McIntyre sits on a desk, reading a newspaper. A tidy young man, Potter’s Assistant, is behind another desk.)
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Assistant Can I help you? Tim I’m here for an interview with Senator Potter. My name’s Timothy Laughlin. Someone phoned for me...I work for The Star. Assistant Oh, yes. Senator Potter’s still at the hearings—he should be back soon. If you wouldn’t mind...(having a seat) Tommy Eh, who’s got time to wait for ol’ Potter? Might as well give you your tryout now. Tommy McIntyre. Tim (shaking his hand) Timothy Laughlin. Tommy Fellow Mick. I hear you can write a word or two. Tim I was an English major at— Tommy —Hawk Fuller says you’re a Hemingway. He’s a good egg, Hawk Fuller. How do you know him? Tim Hawk Fuller? Parties. I didn’t know he’d recommended me. Tommy Says you can write a word or two. Potter needs a speechwriter. Ever done that before? Tim No, but I’m told I’m good at capturing voices. Tommy We’ll see about that. (Tommy rifles around, looking for something on the Assistant’s desk.) Assistant (to Tommy, irritated) Can I help you find something? (Tommy ignores him, finds what he’s looking for, thrusts a piece of paper into Tim’s hands.) Fellow Travelers | 18
Tommy Here’s what Senator Knowland will say on the floor in a couple of hours. I got it from his press man. He’s slamming Adlai Stevenson for jumping in bed with the Russians. See if you can whip up something Potter can say in support of it. (Tim takes out his pen and gets to work. He thinks about Hawk, who appears in the shadows for a moment.) Hawk Calcium! Strong bones. Good for a growing boy. Tim Calcium! Strong bones. (Senator Potter enters. He is energetic, walking with two canes.) Potter (to Tommy) I hope you washed your grubby hands before touching anything in here. Tommy Senator Potter, this Mick could be your new speechwriter. Potter Oh? Tim It’s a great honor, sir. I’ve so admired your work throughout these North Korean Atrocity hearings—tireless—your commitment to exposing communism—I believe the fast-growing-tentacles-ofcommunist-ideology-are-the-most-significant-threat-to-our-great-democracy. Potter Well said, son. Can you write as well as you speak? Tommy Let’s see. (Tommy snatches what Tim’s written out of his hands and gives it to Potter, who reads it aloud.) Potter “In my great automobile-making state of Michigan, we’re wary of any car or country that stays in neutral.” ‘Atta boy!—“Stays in neutral”...“Neutral’s what you’re in when you roll downhill.” 19 | Fellow Travelers
Another Irish wordsmith! (Potter rapidly blinks the lights on his canes.) Tommy Blinking canes: you got the job. Tim Oh boy! (embarrassed by that outburst) Potter I hope Monday morning’s not too soon to start. Tim No, sir. Potter Welcome to the staff. I’m off to shoot a few ducks and then, come Monday, we’ll straighten out this damn country. Tommy and Assistant It’s time someone did. (Potter leaves.) Tommy A land mine. Tim Sorry? Tommy That’s what blew off his legs, since I know that’s what you’re wondering. Battle of the Bulge in the Colmar Pocket. Potter says he liked France so much he left his feet there. Tim Why the lights on his canes? Tommy He blinks when he’s happy, or when he’s hungry, or angry, or when he needs to hail a cab. We call him “Citizen Canes.” Don’t we, Matthew?
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Assistant No we don’t. Tommy You got a girl, Laughlin? Tim No. Why? Tommy She’d probably leave you if you did...this job’s round the clock. Tim Are you on Senator Potter’s staff? Tommy Not officially. Just a friend of the family. Right, Matthew? Assistant (annoyed) Echk. Tommy I like to keep tabs on things—help Potter when I can. Better be the first one to know. Tim (amazed that he got the job) First one to know.
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................................................ SCENE 3: HAWKINS’ OFFICE/TROVERS BOOKSTORE (As Tim walks to Trovers, lights up on Mary and Miss Lightfoot sitting at desks in Hawk’s office. Mary is at her typewriter, trying to get some transcribing done, but Miss Lightfoot keeps chattering away as she fixes her makeup. In the bookstore, a Bookseller is shelving books.) Tim (to Bookseller) I’m looking for something—it’s a thank-you gift. Anything new? Miss Lightfoot (to Mary) Do you believe that? A plain old ordinary woman won a four thousand dollar Cadillac just like that (she snaps). A Cadillac. We could win “Mystery Voice,” Mary! You and me.
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Mary Uh-huh. Miss Lightfoot How is it you don’t listen to the best program on the radio? Mary I don’t know how you find the time. Miss Lightfoot Oh, I have the time. Hawkins doesn’t whisk me off to every cocktail party in town. Mary My mistake. Bookseller Tell me somethin’ about the receiver. Tim It’s for a great man... How about a biography of a great man? Miss Lightfoot Hey! Did you hear about Jerry Baumeister? They gave him his walking papers. Mary That’s awful. He’s such a kind man. Miss Lightfoot Betcha I know how he’ll walk on outta here. (limp-wristed, swishing away) Bookseller (pulling out a book) This one’s just in: Henry Cabot Lodge. (Tim pays him, takes the book, and scribbles an inscription as he walks over to Hawk’s office.) Mary Well hello there. How can I help you? Tim I’m looking for Ha-Hawkins Fu-Fuller. Miss Lightfoot You’re in the right place. Mary I’m afraid he’s not in at the moment. I believe he’s at the Georgetown library— Fellow Travelers | 22
Miss Lightfoot —George Washington U., four to five-thirty. Mary I’d be happy to tell him you— Miss Lightfoot —Who’s asking? Tim Ti-Timothy Laughlin. I have a book. Miss Lightfoot We have eyes. Tim I mean, I have a book for Hawk—Hawkins Fuller. Mary It’s lovely. My name’s Mary. This is Miss Lightfoot. Will he know who it’s from? Tim It’s inscribed on the...well, on the inscription page. It’s a thank-you gift. Mary Does he know where to find you? Tim I don’t have a telephone. Miss Lightfoot Are you Amish? Mary Why don’t you leave your address with me? Tim I’ll write it in here. (He scribbles his address inside the book and hands it to Mary.) Thank you both. You’re very kind. (He waves and leaves.) Mary Stop in again. Lovely to meet you. Goodbye. Miss Lightfoot “Stop in again! Lovely to meet you.” Buh-bye! (snatching the book from Mary) Nervous Nelly, that one. Thank you for what, I wonder. Let’s find out. (She flips to the inscription
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page and reads.) “Thanks to my new friend, Hawk. I got the job! You’re wonderful.” Mary Miss Lightfoot! Back to work. Miss Lightfoot (reading) “See you soon, hopefully. Thankfully, Tim.” Mary That’s awful. 5
Miss Lightfoot Mary, who knew? Our very own Hawkins is...“wonderful”? (Mary smiles, not wanting to participate in this. She knows exactly what’s happening: Hawk has snagged another one. Tim walks back to his apartment, all aglow.) ................................................ SCENE 4: TIMOTHY’S APARTMENT (Evening. Chicken soup is on the stove. Tim stirs it. He sits at the small table in the kitchen. It’s cluttered with books, papers and newspapers. He is writing a letter to his sister.) Tim Hiya, Francie! Tip-top news from the Hill. You heard me. Your kid brother’s got a fancy new job writing speeches for a senator...Senator Potter. Thanks to a phone call from a wonderful new friend: Hawkins Fuller. His friends call him “Hawk.” We met at an endless boring party. He might be my first actual friend in this every-man-for-himself town. How are you both, and my incoming niece or nephew? You’re naming it Timmy, right? No matter the gender? Drink your milk: you’re drinking for two. (Hawk breezes in. Tim is stunned.) Hawk Hiya, Skippy! What’s for dinner? Tim Chicken soup. There’s prob’ly enough for two. Fellow Travelers | 24
(Hawk stirs the soup. Tim watches him as though he were a hallucination.) Hawk No telephone? Tim I don’t even have a lease. Hawk How ‘bout I buy you something better than soup? How ‘bout a steak? You bought me a book. Tim But that was to thank you— Hawk —Where will it end? Tim Thanks but...I’ve got some work to do. Hawk All right then, we’ll stay in. (He starts rummaging through Tim’s place, reading book titles, checking everything out.) Tim Make yourself at home. Hawk (seeing the letter on the desk, reading the first line) “Hiya, Francie! Tip-top news from the Hill...” (Mortified, Tim snatches it out of his hand.) Hawk A girl back home? Tim My sister. It’s just the two of us, though I’ve plenty of cousins... (Hawk kisses Tim. Tim is stunned. Hawk kisses him again. They make their way to Tim’s bed.)
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6
Hawk I should take you to Bermuda. Ever been? (Tim shakes his head.) Hawk Aw, you’d die. It’s my favorite place on the planet. I’m your first, aren’t I? You know what that means? Now I own you. Who owns you, Skippy? I wanna hear you say it. Be my brave boy. Tim You’ve probably done this before...lots of times? Hawk Once or twice. It’s a great big world. Aw, you’d love it down there. Bronze boys on the beach— biceps you wouldn’t believe. Nights, a palm tree grove, I’ll show you. You never know what might come your way. You and me and the boys. Paradise.
Tim As far away as it sounds. Sand as white as milk. Miles and miles. Just you and me and the moon. And the shells. My head on your arm at the end of the day. Paradise.
Tim and Hawk As far away as it sounds. Bermuda. Under the sheets in a tropical storm, you. The rain, finding its way through the gaps in the straw of our roof onto your chest. Two little drops. Paradise.
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(Tim gets out of bed, in a daze. He kisses Hawk’s forehead, almost as though he’s blessing him. He wanders into St. Peter’s Church.) ................................................ 7 SCENE 5: ST. PETER’S CHURCH Tim Last night. How many? How many kisses? His hands... How many hours? How warm, how strong... His hands. I died last night. How many hours? Last night. How many kisses? I died last night. How many whispers? How did he know that I am his? How many sins did I commit? Last night? How many more nights in his arms? How many more mornings? How many whispers? How many sins last night? How soon can I see him again? 27 | Fellow Travelers
How many more nights? Last night. Forgive me, Holy Father. I’ve been told over and over that “Mortal sin kills the life of grace in our souls.” Is it true? I confess that I...that we...last night, his arms, iron bars across my chest. So close, so happy. How many hours? I confess... “It’s a great big world,” he said. But it wasn’t last night. Thank God, it was only us, it was only right, it was right, last night. Father McGuire says one mortal sin will cause more destruction than how many earthquakes? Last night How many kisses? How tender? How many whispers? I died. Fellow Travelers | 28
How many earthquakes? How many kisses? Thank you Holy Father for sending him. Last night, I died. Last night.
8
................................................ SCENE 6: THE HOTEL WASHINGTON (The gang’s all here. It’s a gossip festival. Secrecy, paranoia, and holiday cheer.) All All seem to say throw cares away. Did you hear? From everywhere. Did you hear about Bobby? Throw cares away. One seems to hear words of good cheer. Mary (to Hawk) They fired Bobby Parker. Hawk (to Mary) For what? Mary (to Hawk) For being in the wrong bar. Hawk (to Mary) What’s that got to do with me? Mary (to Hawk) Scott McLeod’s on a rampage—he scares me. Hawk (to Mary) Lighten up, Mary. Chestnuts roasting, et cetera. 29 | Fellow Travelers
General Airlie (to Tim) The Army’s got plenty to offer fellas like you. Tim (to General Airlie) I don’t think you’d want me. General Airlie (to Tim) Nonsense. Tommy (to Tim) So, howdayalike playing with the big dogs? Tim (to Tommy) It’s very exciting seeing McCarthy in action. Party Guest Did you hear the one about Roy Cohn in church? Ahhh...men. Miss Lightfoot (to Mary) I say anyone who doesn’t like Christmas is a Commie. Mary (to Hawk) You’re borderline reckless. Hawk (to Mary) It’s part of my charm. All Young and old. Meek and bold. Tommy (to Potter) McCarthy’s not gonna like what the Army’s got up its sleeve. They’ve got McCarthy by the balls this time. Estonian Frank (to Mary) Wanna learn some Estonian? Mary (to Estonian Frank) I can’t even learn your last name. Estonian Frank (to Mary) Another vodka? Mary (to Estonian Frank) I probably shouldn’t—okay. Tommy (to Tim) Between you and me, Roy Cohn’s days are numbered. Fellow Travelers | 30
Mary (to Hawk) Staying out late, coming in late. I’d call it reckless. Hawk (to Mary) I’d call it holiday cheer. Can I help it if I’m distracted by an Irish tiger cub? Mary (to Hawk) Easy. Miss Lightfoot Someone put on that “Santa Baby” record! All Young and old. Meek and bold... Hawk (to Tim) Let’s get outta here, Skippy. Whaddya say? My Irish tiger cub? (Miss Lightfoot overhears.) Tim (to Hawk) I’d love to. I should probably stay with Senator Potter. Hawk (to Tim) I own you, not “Citizen Canes.” Tim (to Hawk) Not so loud. Lucy (to Hawk, offering her hand) Hawkins Fuller, I believe my mother knows your mother. Hawk (to Lucy) Pleasure to meet you, Lucille was it? (taking her hand) Lucy (to Hawk) Lucy. Miss Lightfoot (to Mary) What did he mean by “Irish tiger cub”? Mary He’s had too many brandies—come on, let’s find you some mistletoe, Miss Lightfoot (taking her hand). Miss Lightfoot Irish tiger cub? 31 | Fellow Travelers
Mary Silent night... Miss Lightfoot Irish tiger cub? All Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Hawk (to Tim) Let’s get outta here, Skippy. Whaddya say? (Everyone “parties off” leaving Hawk alone. Suddenly it seems so quiet. Where’d they go? Lights change abruptly from festive to clinical.) ................................................ SCENE 7: INTERROGATION ROOM M304 9
Interrogator Mr. Fuller, my name is Fred Traband. Please step into M304. Hawk These rooms always have such catchy names. Interrogator Leave your coat here. Hawk Quite a surprise, getting your summons. Interrogator —This shouldn’t take long. (Hawk sees a Technician sitting in front of a polygraph.) Interrogator We have sufficient reason to question you. Please (sit down). Let me be frank, Mr. Fuller. Eighty percent of these investigations end with an admission of deviant behavior. As you know, the moral perversion and emotional immaturity of a sexual deviant make him the prime target of blackmail by anyone seeking to undermine the government of the United States.
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Hawk I know, I’ve heard: “One pansy can pollute an entire government office.” Interrogator Right. Now Mr. Fuller, please stand up and walk to the wall and back. Hawk Walk...how? Interrogator Normally. Whatever you would consider normal. (Hawk does this, slowly. He’s hyper-aware of his walk. The Interrogator watches for swishing hips, then scribbles something down on his clipboard. He removes a piece of paper from a folder and thrusts it into Hawk’s hands.) Interrogator Read this aloud. Hawk “President Eisenhower revealed in his State of the Union message last January that he favors some form of home rule for the District.” Interrogator (listening for a sibilant “S”) Repeat the word “Disstrict.” Hawk “District.” Interrogator Again. Hawk “District.” (The Interrogator nods once and scribbles something down.) Interrogator Now this. (He thrusts an open novel into Hawk’s hands.) Hawk Of Human Bondage? “Philip opened a large cupboard filled with dresses and, stepping in, took as many of them as he could in his arms and buried his face in them.” I read good, don’t I, teacher?
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Interrogator Keep reading. Hawk “They smelt of the scent his mother used. Then he pulled open the drawers filled with his mother’s things, and looked at them: there were lavender bags among the lines”—sorry—“bags among the linen, and their scent was fresh and pleasant. The strangeness—” Interrogator Enough! I’m going to have to ask you to take a lie detector test. I must warn you, if you refuse— Hawk —I’ll take it. Technician These are a little cold. (The Technician puts sensors on Hawk, who flinches.) All set. (He returns to the machine.) Interrogator Who was the president of the United States when you were born? Hawk Calvin Coolidge. Interrogator Have you ever given or received presents of a romantic nature to or from another man? (Lights up on Tim.) Tim With thanks to my new friend, Hawk. I got the job! You’re wonderful. Hawk No. Interrogator Have you ever set foot in an establishment called “The Jewel Box” at the corner of L and Sixteenth Streets? (Lights up on a flamboyant Bartender polishing a martini glass.)
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Bartender (to Hawk) Haven’t seen you in a goon’s moon, handsome! You just missed a “Some Enchanted Evening” that gave us some enchanted migraines. Want the usual? Hawk No. Tim Chicken noodle soup. There’s prob’ly enough for two. Interrogator Now Mr. Fuller, have you ever engaged in sodomy or oral-genital contact with another man? Hawk No. Interrogator Have you ever considered yourself to be in love with another male? Hawk (to Tim) No telephone? Interrogator Mr. Fuller, answer the question. Hawk Of course not. Interrogator Yes or no. Hawk No. No. (The Technician removes the sensors. Hawk gets his coat, trying to hide the fact that he’s rattled.) ................................................ 10 SCENE 8: TIMOTHY’S APARTMENT (Hawk walks over to Tim’s bed, unbuttons his shirt, and lies down next to Tim.)
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Tim Mary asked me to supper next Sunday. Hawk You should go. I’m sure she wants to warn you about me. You should probably listen. Tim I like her a lot. Hawk And she likes you. Maybe that’s what you’re missing: a Southern belle, biscuits and gravy. (Tim punches Hawk playfully. Hawk grabs his wrist and twists him around so Tim is completely restrained.) Hawk There! Now I’m Roy Cohn and you’re David Schine. (He mimes thrusting into Tim a few times.) Tim They’re not! Hawk Open your eyes, Skippy. Why does Schine get the red carpet treatment? McCarthy’s in on it, too. Tim Oh please. Hawk I call them “The Jewel Box.” Boy, do I love watching Joe self-destruct: “Have you no decency”— Tim You sound like a Red. McCarthy’s doing the most important work a man can do: rooting out Reds who chew up our values from the inside out. Hawk You’re a handsome lad but you don’t have a clue. Tim Well I didn’t go to Harvard where Commie professors taught me what’s what.
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Hawk Name a single “Commie professor.” Tim Did you ever go out with girls? Hawk Now and again. Too bad DiMaggio took Marilyn. Those lucky soldier boys get to watch her shake her goods. Those soldier boys in Korea. Lucky soldier boys. Don’t forget to put this back on, Skippy. (re: the cross Tim removes when he makes love. Tim puts it on.) Hawk If you love God so much, why didn’t you become a priest? Tim I almost did. Hawk Really? Tim But I guess I like doing this too much. (He kisses Hawk, who doesn’t seem interested.) Hawk What would “God” say? Tim How should I know? Let’s go away for the weekend, Hawk! We’ll find a motel by the beach, “Memory Lane” or “Bermuda Triangle.” We’ll stay in bed for two days straight. Hawk I’ve gotta work Saturday, so do you. Tim All right, let’s go to the pictures Friday night. I’m dying to see The Robe. Hawk You and your Jesus pictures. Tim You could learn a thing or two, Hawk. We’ll see whatever you want, I’ll cook supper, whaddya say? Hawk I say “I don’t know!” Let’s see when we get there. 37 | Fellow Travelers
Tim Sorry. (Hawk starts to get dressed.) Hawk I can’t be your husband. Tim I know. Hawk That’s not how it works. Tim You don’t have to say that. Hawk By the way, they called me in today. Tim Who? Hawk Scott McLeod and his “Miscellaneous M Unit.” What does the “M” stand for anyway? Tim What? Why didn’t you tell me? Hawk I’m telling you now. Tim They could be watching. Listening. Hawk They probably are. Tim What did they ask you? Hawk Relax, Skippy, relax. You’re my best-kept secret. Miss Lightfoot kindly informed them I was a pansy. Tim How do you know? Fellow Travelers | 38
Hawk She quit the day I got the summons. Tim The rat! Hawk Hey. Tim I never liked her. Hawk It’s no big deal–they got nothin’ on Hawkins Fuller. Ah, almost forgot...(reaching into his pocket) Merry belated Christmas. (He puts a set of cufflinks into Tim’s hand.) Tim I can’t take your cufflinks. They’ve got your initials. Hawk You’re a writer, you can think of other words that start with “H” and “F.” “Holy Father.” C‘mere, Skippy. Tell Mary I smack you around, see what she says. (Hawk tosses Tim violently onto the bed.) Tim What if they are watching us? Hawk Let ‘em enjoy it. I know I will. It’s a red hot world. Up in Hell’s Kitchen, there’s a man who plays the clarinet. He stands at his window and tosses out tunes from the second floor. He does things you wouldn’t dream of, Skippy. Tim Do you even know his name? Hawk What’s in a name?
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Act II
SCENE 9: MCCARTHY’S OFFICE (They’re all drinking whiskey—Tommy, Potter and McCarthy.) 1
Tim It’s an honor to meet you, Senator McCarthy. McCarthy (re: the newspaper) This one’s my favorite. “He dons his war paint. He dances his war dance. He goes forth to battle and proudly returns with the scalp of a pink Army dentist.” Senator Flanders—they’re all pansies up there in Vermont. Drink up, everyone! (McCarthy pours another round. He stops at Tim’s glass.) McCarthy (to Tim) Are you old enough, son? Tim I’m almost— McCarthy —I’m only kiddin’. (He pours Tim some whiskey.) Potter Joe, we’ve got a problem. McCarthy (to Tim) You’ve got a baby face. (to Potter) Don’t blink your canes at me, Potter. I’ve got an army of problems. Potter Adams is your biggest problem. McCarthy Adams? Tommy The Army’s introduced the “Adams Chronology.” McCarthy What the hell is that? Fellow Travelers | 40
Tommy It’s a list... McCarthy It’s a list! Tommy ...of what you and Roy Cohn did. McCarthy It’s a list! Tommy ...of what you and Roy did to pressure the Army to get David Schine special treatment. McCarthy So they say. That prick Nixon’s behind this. Tommy It’ll drop like an A-bomb. Potter Roy Cohn’s gotta go. McCarthy Roy’s not going anywhere! Potter Roy Cohn’s gotta go. McCarthy Roy’s not going anywhere! Son, did you happen to see Ed Murrow’s half-hour dung heap about me? Tim I don’t have a television. But I heard— McCarthy —Some Julius Caesar mumbo-jumbo. Practically called me a Nazi. Potter (to Tommy) We can get the Army to fire Adams, right? (Tommy nods.) But it’s gotta be a trade. Otherwise they’re going to investigate this whole thing, Joe. You know what that means. All You know what that means.
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McCarthy What the hell are you writing down? Tim Sorry sir, I— Potter Leave him alone, Joe. McCarthy (to Potter and Tommy) Roy’s not going anywhere! Believe it or not, I’ve got some friends in the press. Men like George Sokolsky, Jews on our side, Jews who actually know what a Communist is. They’re not gonna like anyone going after Roy. Go after Roy and they’ll go after you. I’ll make sure they do. Everyone’s money comes from somewhere, Senator. Even yours. They’ve got files on us? Tell ‘em we’ve got files on them too. (He drinks up.) (Lights down on Potter and McCarthy. Tim walks away. Tommy follows him.) Tommy (to Tim) Hey Hemingway, want an inside scoop? Roy Cohn’s a goner. Wanna put a fiver on it? (Tim ignores him.) Whoa there, friend. Why so icy? I hope you realize I’m a good friend to have. You know your boss “Senator Potter” does whatever I want? It’s true. He’s got an illegitimate son—I keep his birth certificate on me at all times. (He produces it.) You never know when it will come in handy. Tim I don’t want to know. Tommy Ya heard it here first. See, I’m a good friend to have. I just want the same as you. To play the game. Aw, lighten up, Timmy! Play the game and come out on top. Say hello to your special friend, Hawk. (Tim shudders. He picks up a bottle of wine and brings it over to Mary’s.)
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................................................ 2 SCENE 10: MARY’S KITCHEN/TIMOTHY’S APARTMENT McCarthy (on the radio) Don’t be coy with me, General Zwicker! Anyone with the brains of a five-year-old child can understand it. A general who says “I’ll protect another general who protects Communists” is not fit to wear that uniform, General. (Mary flips off the radio.) Mary Ooh, I can’t stand the sound of that man’s voice. Tim This was delicious. Mary You’re a doll. New Orleans-style catfish, just like mama made. I hope there wasn’t too much cayenne, I can get carried away. Tim No. Thanks for having me over, Mary. I don’t have many friends in this town besides Hawk. Mary He’s a good one to have. Impetuous maybe, but— Tim I’ve never been to New Orleans but I bet there’s jazz in the air. Folks lounging on wrought iron balconies... Mary I’ll take you to Mardi Gras sometime. That’d be a hoot. Timmy? Can you keep a secret? Tim Surely. Mary The Estonian man I was with at the Christmas party...we had too many vodka tonics after, and now, apparently I have a tiny Estonian in me. Tim Mary!
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Mary Funny how life can change in a heartbeat. Nobody knows. Not even Hawk. Tim I won’t tell a soul. It might make a nice name...Estonia. Mary Estonia. I know a doctor in New Orleans who will take care of it. Tim Mary! You’re not gonna keep it? Mary I can’t. Not when I’m alone. I can’t. Tim But that’s a sin.
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Mary I can’t. Timmy, I’ve known Hawkins a very long time... Everyone loves him. Including me. I just don’t want him to... I worry—that’s all—about you, Timmy. I know him well—and there are times I wish I didn’t know him so well, if you know what I mean. He’s “wonderful,” you’re right about that. But he’s a certain kind of wonderful, Timmy. I’ve seen all the people and patterns. It would break my heart to see you become another one of those people and patterns. Tim He’s been a good friend. Don’t worry, Mary. Mary There was a time when I thought he might be the one for me— of course, I was wrong. It would break my heart to see you Fellow Travelers | 44
become one of those people and patterns. (Tim gets up anxiously and walks over to his bed, where Hawk is waiting. He lies down. Mary watches.) Hawk Hey, wanna hear some good news? The “Miscellaneous M Unit” says I’m clean as a whistle. God help ‘em. Tim I’m sure they’re still watching. Hawk Let ‘em watch! Hey, guess how we’re gonna celebrate? (Tim waits for it, uneasily.) Hawk New office boy. Lewis. About your age, dirty blond, should we see if he’s free tonight? Tim What do you mean? Hawk C’mon, Skippy, it’s a red hot world. Let’s let it burn us. Tim What do you mean? Hawk You’re a smart boy. I mean the two of us could become the three of us. Tim What are you doing, Hawk? Hawk Living. Why don’t you try it? Tim That’s not what I call living.
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Hawk There’s more to life than cookies and milk. Open your eyes, Skippy. Tim Get out, Hawk. Get out. Mary I worry... Hawk That’s not what you want. (Hawk disappears into the shadows.) Mary Ever since that day you dropped off the book, I liked you, Timmy. It would break my heart...
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................................................ SCENE 11: ROOF OF THE OLD POST OFFICE (An American flag. Tim picks up an empty milk bottle. He hasn’t slept in days. Hawk arrives, looking disheveled.) Hawk Quite a view. Tim I come up here to think. Hawk I was worried when I got your note: “Meet me on the roof of the Old Post Office”...sounded like you were planning on jumping. If so, I don’t wanna be here. That can get messy. Tim No more jokes, Hawk—not anymore. Do you want your cufflinks back? Hawk They were a gift. Fellow Travelers | 46
Tim I enlisted. Hawk You what? Tim I have to get over you. Hawk There are other ways. Why don’t we take some more time— Tim —It won’t work. Hawk I know, Skippy. Tim I’m all packed up. I leave for training tomorrow...they told me I’ll probably end up in France. Hawk Sounds like torture. Tim I wasn’t enough for you, Hawk. What we had. We weren’t enough. Hawk Skippy... Hey, look. The smokestacks of St. Elizabeth. Tim The insane asylum. Hawk and Tim Where Ezra Pound is writing poetry. Tim I wasn’t enough. I’ve stopped taking communion. Because I don’t mean it. I’ve been worshiping you, not Him. I have to... Hold onto my waist...I wanna lean over the edge. Hawk Don’t do that. Tim Just hold on tight. (Reluctantly Hawk holds Tim as he leans out over the edge. Tim holds his bottle out as though he’ll drop it.) With the breaking of this bottle I give up drinking milk, and I sever all attachments to Hawkins Fuller. 47 | Fellow Travelers
(Tim tries to drop the milk bottle. He can’t.) Tim Promise you won’t write. (Hawk walks back to his office, leaving Tim on the roof.) ................................................ 5 SCENE 12: HAWKINS’ OFFICE (Mary is packing her things. She thrusts a piece of paper into Hawk’s hands.) Hawk What’s this? Mary My letter of resignation. Hawk Mary— Mary —Scott McLeod’s firing good people left and right while you stand there gloating. Hawk Mary, I’m not gloating. I can’t stop him. Mary Somebody’s got to. His “Miscellaneous M Unit” is ripping this place apart. Jerry Baumeister shot himself in the head. Hawk Jesus. Mary I can’t stay here, Hawk. I can’t be one of those people who sit there and whisper and snigger. I can’t stay. I don’t approve— Hawk —You never have—
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Mary —I don’t approve of your breaking his heart. Hawk I didn’t make him enlist. Mary He’s in agony, Hawk. Maybe a Russian bullet will put him out of his misery. Hawk Where are you going? Mary Back to New Orleans. I’ll give you a ring when I’m back in town. I haven’t been feeling well. Hawk Everyone’s leaving me. I miss him, Mary. I know you don’t believe me. Mary You’ll find a new friend. Probably later this evening. Hawk But...he’s different. My Irish tiger. (She looks up at Hawk. She doesn’t know whether to believe him. She leaves. Hawk goes over to his lawn.)
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................................................ SCENE 13: TIMOTHY IN FRANCE/HAWKINS IN CHEVY CHASE (Two years have passed. Tim wanders into a Cathedral in France. Hawk is sitting with Lucy on their lawn. Mary is in a hotel room in New Orleans.) Tim I’m breaking our promise. It’s two years to the day since we said goodbye and I am writing to ask you for help. Please, Hawk, do what you can to help the Hungarians—the Russians are strangling them. Lucy Sweetie pie... 49 | Fellow Travelers
Mary Soldier boy... Hawk Soldier boy, I have to admit “Help Hungary” came as a surprise. You have been on my mind. A lot. Tim I’m writing for the Army’s paper, The Com Z Cadence. No one to talk to. Billy Graham dropped in, I didn’t go. I’m eating lots of cheese and baguettes. I miss you. Hawk I bought a house in Chevy Chase...lawn and everything. Time to be an adult, I guess. Ike had a heart attack, I’m sure you heard. Your man Nixon’s waiting in the wings. Mary Getting your letter was the happiest part of my week, Timmy. Loved your doodles. Beetle Bailey. Lucy Honey, promise we’ll look at carpets tomorrow. Mary I hope the Army is treating you well. Or as well as the Army treats anyone. Lonely here in New Orleans. I haven’t told anyone I’m here. Not even my mother. Lucy Sweetheart, I’m seeing a crack. Mary I stay in the hotel room, incognito. I’m headed back to D.C. on Sunday. I’ve no idea what I’ll do there. It’s not the same city without you. Lucy Sweetie, I’m seeing a crack—it might be a leak, maybe it’s nothing... It looks like they slapped some paint on, hoping we wouldn’t notice. I’ll phone the inspector tomorrow. We’ve got enough roast for tonight, or would you rather go out for a steak? I’m feeling adventurous... Mary Dear Timmy, I miss you. Lots of love. Don’t let them boss you around. Tim You have been on my mind a lot. Fellow Travelers | 50
Hawk You know where to find me. ................................................ 7 SCENE 14: BRICK HOUSE (It’s February, 1957. Tim is back in D.C. Hawk has rented a Brick House for them to be together.) Hawk I hope you find your new home satisfactory, Corporal Laughlin. Tim I’m not a corporal. Hawk Well you’re certainly not a Skippy anymore. Tim It’s wonderful. Hawk I thought the dirty bricks might remind you of New York. Tim I tried to stay away. I tried. What are we doing, Hawk? Hawk God only knows. Tim I lay on my cot, and thought of your arms across my chest. Hawk I’m married now, you know: “Lucy.” Tim Mary told me. I remember Lucy from the Christmas party. Dark hair, porcelain hands... I don’t give a damn as long as we’re together. Hawk Here we are. Lie down with me, my soldier boy. Tell me about your purple hearts. Tim Every morning I’d go to the Cathedral. Those marble columns streaked with blood. I missed
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you. I bought some religious essays by T.S. Eliot but I couldn’t focus. I finally went to confession. (Lights up on the Priest.) Tim Bless me father for I have sinned. It has been nineteen months since my last confession. I have returned to God the best gift He ever gave me. But I cannot say I’m sorry for the sin. Priest What was this gift? Tim The man I love. Priest Did you give this man back to God in order to save yourself? Tim Yes. Priest Can you give him to God in the spirit of a gift? Tim No. Priest May God have mercy on you, my son. (Lights down on the Priest.) Tim I’ve never felt as close to God as I do in our Brick House. Hawk I don’t know about all that, Skippy. I just want you to be happy. Tim I am. Because no matter what, I love you, Hawkins Fuller. Hawk Same here. What are you doing for work? Tim I might need a hand. Do you know Leonard Osbourne? Fellow Travelers | 52
Hawk Lenny. Tim I hear he’s looking for someone to head up the Hungarian Refugee Relief. Hawk I’ll do what I can. Tim You’re the best. What else did I miss, besides your wedding? Hawk Your pal Roy Cohn turned thirty. Tim Did David Schine bake him a cake? Hawk Nope, Schine was home with his fiancée. Poor Roy. McCarthy had a good line: “The resignation of Roy Cohn must bring great satisfaction to the Communists and fellow travelers.” Why do you care so much about Hungary? Tim It’s horrible, what they’re going through. It boggles my mind, the evil that Russians bring into this world every day. Do you know what they do to men like us in Russia? Hawk Easy now. Are you eating at all? You’ve lost so much weight. Tim I’m never hungry these days. (looking around) God, I love our Brick House—the fireplace. It’s perfect. Hawk Skippy, don’t you want a family someday? Tim No. This is plenty for me. Hawk But don’t you want— Tim —A “Lucy” of my own? No thanks. What’s the point? 53 | Fellow Travelers
Hawk Lucy and I honeymooned in Bermuda. Perfect weather. Sun for seven days straight. You’ve got to go someday, Skippy. You’d die. Lucy read novels and swam in the ocean. I took long walks in the palm groves... Tim Why did you have to tell me that, Hawk? Why? Why did you have to tell me that, Hawk? (Hawk doesn’t answer. He knows this isn’t going to work. Tim gets up and leaves. Hawk watches him go.)
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Hawk Our very own home, Skippy. Bricks...a fireplace Matching plates...a bed...a bookshelf Towels...gray for you, purple for me. I’m not one of those, Skippy. Neither are you...we’ll never be that. I’m not one of those. Squeals and aprons, dangling spatulas, I’m not one of those. Stay. Just stay. Come over here. There are things we can have. And there are things we can be...for each other, Skippy. We can’t be that. You’re not one of those. Let me hold you for an hour. That’s what we get.
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That’s what we’re given. Let me hold you. Your head on my arm just for an hour, you and me and the moon. Stay here in the shadows. Matching plates...a bed...a bookshelf, we’re not that. We’ll never be that, Skippy. We can’t be that, Skippy. Just let me hold you. That’s what we get. For an hour Just for an hour. (Hawk walks over to Mary’s kitchen and sits down.) 9
Hawk This can’t go on. This can’t. ................................................ SCENE 15: MARY’S KITCHEN/BRICK HOUSE/ROOM M304 (Mary is leaving for good. Back to New Orleans. She’s packing kitchenware into a cardboard box.) Mary I never know what to keep. Speak now if you and Lucy need kitchenware. Believe it or not, this has been in my family since the Civil War (re: a cast iron pan). Want a slice of bread with jam? Hawk No.
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Mary It’s all I can offer...my neighbor came by and cleaned out the icebox. How about coffee at least? You don’t look so good, Hawk. Hawk Mary, I need a favor. Mary I don’t work for you anymore, remember? Hawk I need you to... Mary What is it? Hawk I need you to tell Tim what I’ve done. Mary What have you done? Hawk He asked me to put in a word for him, about a new job. I put in a word. (As Mary watches, Hawk goes over to room M304.) Hawk Hello again, Mr. Traband. Hawkins Fuller. We had the pleasure of chatting a little while back. Interrogator I remember you. What can I do for you? Hawk I have some information...someone who’s applying for a job with Lenny Osbourne in Hungarian Relief. Tommy Better be the first to know. Hawk I think it’s unwise, for his own sake, and the Department’s—If this young man gets the job, he’s liable to be blackmailed...on account of his tendencies. Fellow Travelers | 56
Interrogator Your insight is greatly appreciated, Mr. Fuller. Now, if I could just get some specifics. Mary You swine! I never thought I’d say it but...you are a swine, Hawk Fuller. How could you? Hawk I need you to tell him. Mary He’s so young—this is his whole life. What have you done? Hawk I need you to tell him. Mary Tell him yourself. Hawk I want it to seem like you found out. Mary You hypocrite. Hawk I want him to hate me. He should hate me. It’s the only way out. (to Interrogator) Timothy Laughlin. Timothy Laughlin. (As Hawk watches, Mary goes over to visit Tim in the Brick House.) Tim It’s chilly in here, sorry. I can turn on the heater. Mary Don’t bother, Timmy. Tim The bricks keep it cold. I know how you New Awlins gals like a little heat... Hawk I had to, Mary. Tim Are you glad to be moving back home?
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Mary I suppose. I can’t take this town any longer. How are you holding up? Tim All right. I just don’t understand why I wouldn’t get the job? Maybe that is cocky of me. Hawk I want him to hate me. He should hate me. It’s the only way out. Tim Do you need a hand with packing? You have the strangest look in your eye. Hawk I did it for both of us. It’s the only way out. It would only get worse. I was torturing him. Make it hard on him. Mary I know why you didn’t get the job. Tim Why? I’m not qualified, you can say it. Mary Hawk told them about you. He was scared for his job. He thought if you both worked in the State Department...someone was sure to find out. Hawk I want him to hate me. Tim But why didn’t he tell me...? I don’t understand. Interrogator Timothy Laughlin, Timothy Laughlin. Hawk Why? Mary He’s not who you want him to be. Tim But he’s exactly who I want him to be. Mary You should have had better, Tim. You will...I know it. Oh Timmy, I’m sorry.
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Tim (in shock) Please go, Mary. I’m sorry. Please go, Mary. (Heartbroken, Mary leaves. Eventually Tim gets his suitcase and wanders over to the park bench. He sits.) ................................................ 10 SCENE 16: PARK IN DUPONT CIRCLE (Hawk approaches.) Hawk Shed any tears over Joe’s death? My favorite part of the eulogy: “Joe was never vindictive. He was a warm, human, and exceptionally charming person.” I’m sorry, are we talking about Joe McCarthy here? Tim The man’s dead. He doesn’t need any more floggings. Hawk You’ve got a suitcase. Tim I’m going back to New York on the three forty-five. Hawk You’ll stay with your sister? She’ll love that. “Uncle Timothy.” Tim I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I’m trying to be angry at you. I’m not. I feel like I never existed. Hawk You did, Skippy. You did. You and me both. Tim We’ll never see each other again, will we?
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Hawk No, Skippy. Someone else will have to remind you to say your prayers. And drink your milk. (Hawk leaves. Tim sits there alone. Eventually he stands, picks up his suitcase, and leaves.) THE END
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CREDITS Recorded live in the Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 17 and 19, and July 6, 8, and 10, 2016. Executive Producer: Marcus Küchle Recording Producer: Gregory Spears Recording Engineer: Chelsea Crutcher, Cincinnati Public Radio Mixing and Mastering: Tom Lazarus Editor: Ashley Tongret Design: Aimee Sposito Martini Cover Art: Catrin Welz-Stein Photography: Philip Groshong Publisher: Schott Helicon Music Corporation, New York (BMI)
Fellow Travelers received a workshop through Opera Fusion: New Works, a joint venture between Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, made possible by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Robin Guarino & Marcus Küchle, Co-Artistic Directors. ©2017 All rights reserved. FC–011
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CINCINNATI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Violin I Kathryn Woolley Eric Bates Mauricio Aguiar Violin II Yang Liu Kun Dong Rachel Charbel Viola Julian Wilkison Denisse Rodriguez
Cello Daniel Culnan Matthew Lad
Trombone Cristian Ganicenco Peter Norton
Bass Matthew Zory
Keyboard Michael Chertock
Flute Randolph Bowman
Personnel Manager Walter Zeschin
Oboe Dwight Parry
Orchestra Librarian Christina Eaton
Clarinet Ronald Aufmann
The appearance of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is made possible by the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund of the Greenacres Foundation.
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SUPPORT FOR FELLOW TRAVELERS WORLD PREMIERE & RECORDING Fellow Travelers World Premiere Production Underwriters The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./ U.S. Bank Foundation David C. Herriman With special thanks to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its support of the development of Fellow Travelers. Fellow Travelers Recording Underwriter The Gale Family Foundation Fellow Travelers World Premiere Production Sponsors The CCM Harmony Fund Cincinnati Opera Guild Peter G. Courlas, in honor of Nicholas Tsimaras Barbara Gould The Estate of Dr. Stanley Kaplan Ryan L. Messer and James A. Musuraca-Messer The National Endowment for the Arts Ohio National Financial Services OPERA America Edward and Nancy Rosenthal Edward B. Silberstein, M.D., and Jacqueline M. Mack
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University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music G. Sterling Zinsmeyer Fellow Travelers World Premiere Artistic Sponsors Allen Bernard Arthur B. Casper Mrs. Robert J. Hasl, in loving memory of Dr. Robert J. Hasl Donna Hoffman Young Artist Scholarship Fund Mr. and Mrs. Gary “Doc� Huffman Doug Ignatius and Bruce Preston Dean Peter Landgren and Mrs. Judith Schonbach Landgren The Estate of Mary and William Meyer Mr. and Mrs. David W. Motch Marilyn Z. Ott Art Design Consultants/Litsa Spanos William A. Starr Young Artist Fund William D. Stenger Brett Stover Jane and Jon Votel Ginger and David Warner Fellow Travelers Recording Sponsors Anonymous Patricia K. and James D. Beggs Dr. Sherry L. Blake
Dr. Walter Bruyninckx and Dr. Anne-Marie B. Blancquaert Richard and Susan Lauf Mr. Robert Lombardo Evans Mirageas and Thomas Dreeze Francis Mondimore, M.D. The Newburgh Institute for the Arts and Ideas Gerald and Sarah Skidmore Mr. Frank Stenger Fellow Travelers Recording Additional Support Anonymous (2) Dr. Richard S. Sarason and Anne S. Arenstein Mr. Donald Beck and Lawrence E. Eynon, M.D. Mr. Donald M. Behr Dr. C. Edward Lahniers Mr. David Brashear Mr. Robert M. Brockman Ms. Betsi Brockmeier Mr. and Mrs. David M. Callif Ms. Katherine Campbell Mr. William K. Clark Mr. and Mrs. John P. Cover Dr. David Crowe Mr. Peter D’Angio Terry A. Davis Mr. S. Blake Duncan Dr. Leslie and Mr. Brian Dye
Mr. Alan S. Eisen Ms. Cristina Ferrari Mr. Kenneth Griffiths Teddy Gumbleton Mr. John Hartley Irmgard and Horst Hehmann Mr. and Mrs. Tom Horwitz Doug Ignatius and Bruce Preston Ms. Cassondra Joseph Rabbi Kenneth A. Kanter Ms. Nina S. Key Ms. Julie M. Kline Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Kuhn Dr. Joe Law Mr. and Mrs. Jon P. Longtin Dr. Braden Mechley Mr. Victor Orange Mr. Raymond Peterson George Palmer Schober Mr. Richard I. Sininger Reverend Dr. Michael J. Smith Mr. and Mrs. Andrew P. Speno Dr. John Tan Royce D. Thrush Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Toon Dr. Mia Unson, Ph.D. The Voice of Your Customer Ms. Mriana Williams Mrs. Trisha Winland
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